Conveyer



Feb. 7, 1939.

lH. D. LATHROP 2,145,882

coNyEYER l Filed Dec. 9, 193s s sheets-sheet 1 @i ,My/@MMM I H. D. LATHROP Feb. 7, 1939.

CONVEYER f Filed Deo. 9, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f v STATES K Vierer fe' Patented Feb. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE coNvErEn Harry D. Lathrop, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The "Lathro'pa,Paulson Co., a corporation'of Illinois Annotation peember s, 193s, serial No, 115,033 16 claims. (01193-213) invention relates to a conveyer and more particularly to a conveyer in which spiral conveying means are employed.`

A11 ebieei ef the invention is te provide e simple ,Y

5 and effeeiive eerivevingapparetus in which few Peris. are. employed end by vvhiehy accurate means for. raising and lowering/'objects can be employed Awhile maintaining control of the speed of descent er eeeerii Qi Aihe'ebieeis- A further Object is te .1,9 Die sie e Yeii'eel eeiiverer in which articles may lifted or lowered Vwithin a very small space while at the same timecontrolling the speed of 'movement ofthe object. A further object is to provide mechanismby which an object can be lowered kfrom one oor of' a building in a steady nner to a lower floor or landing and vice versa,

`lifted from Ya lower oor to a higher floor by the 'vrs/ame mechanism.'

77' "Af further `object is to provide a conveyer izo equpped with an automatic feed,l the conveyer y being"made'in sections, making it vpossibi@ to load or',l ischarg'e on any floor or point. Another v'object p'f'the invention is toprovide a spirai conveyer with' means for eliminating `friction or for in-y c e iig friction. A 'fermer object is to provide i PQDYYi consisting Vof a pliiraiityl of spirals', one ofthe' spirals being of less diameter ,than the other Afflirther object'of the invention is to provide so a ,conveyer' spiral and a pluralityof stop spirals whereby the capacity of the convey'erspiral is greatly increased. Another object is to provide roller or other suitable antiffriction means Afor supporting the spiral conveyer or stopspiral in- :35 rterniediaalte their ends dso that theymay yextend to substantial heights ,without danger `and with# out requiring Vexpess,iyei'yheavy material. 1 other spec' `objects 'anda'dvantageswill .appear as the speciiication proceeds. u y ,'Ivheinvention.is`il1ustrated, in a preferred emi Ilxidirrierit,l,by the accompanying drawings, vin which.,

liig'ure l is azbrokenfview inelevation-of a con- ,bodyirrg my invention; Fig. 2, fa ,t0n plan taken as indicatedfat ,1 es' or Fig. kzlii'g. 1, a plan f y,vierv ef VSeeiierisei the' eeriyeyeradapted'to.be Secured together and .eleirjiped ...about/the Spiral .best and also 'showing Supporting reiiersi' Fig. 5,

"1F59 sid l view in 'elevation of the structure shown i and Fig.f6,' a'plavn View cfa modied f .trie`i1i'ven'ioii.,y plural stop spirals `being ed yfri eeniiiiietieii with .e eoveye'r SpireL on siren in Figs; 1 to y3 inclue a conv er spiral; B; esteri spiral; C, driving mechanism; and D, automatic feed mechanism.

The spiral conveyer A preferably consists of a post or schaft ID having a conical lower point I l received within a concave bearing in pillar I2. 5 The shaft I is secured at its top within bearing I3 andk is provided with a collar I4 which is hired to the shaft and rests upon bearing I3. Asspiral track I5, formed in segments, is secured to the shaft I0. The track i 5 may be of any i() suitable shape for receiving and conveying oarrels, packages orv any other desired objectsf Preff erably', the track is slightly tilted toward its center lso as to prevent the objects carried within the track from falling off the track during the descent or ascent. The conveyer track,l as shown more d clearly in Fig. 1, is provided with an outer edge ledge I6 andwith an inner concavity I1. Preferatogetherby bolts. It ywill be understood, however, g5 that the track may be secured to the post in any suitable manner andrnay be in one piece, if desired, or in segments as illustrated.

e In the illustration given, an upper floor is indicated"by the letter E vand a lower licor is in- Y3.0 'dicate'd by the letter F. The spiral shaft I0 extends' through both floors. However, the spiral track I5 terminates just short of the upper floor E and just above the lower floor F. In usual operation, itkwill probably be desired to install a conveyer' (not, shown) below the lower end of thetrack I5 to receive and carry away in a horizontal plane the articles lowered'bythe conveyer. The stop spiral B may also be rformed of any suitable materials and lconstructed in any suitable 40 way.k In the illustration given, ar vertical shaft 20 is employed, the lower conical end 2l of the shaft being received `iierithin a bearing carried by pillar 22.4 Ther upper end ofthe shaft is provided With a collar23 which is xed to the shaft 4.5 and 'rests upon 'bearing' 24. Aspiral rod 25 is secured to the shaft 20, as 'shown more 'clearly in Fig". `1 by' means of arms or struts 26. The stop spiral B is of less diameter than the conveyer spiral A. However, its threads -do extend Vin- 5 0 Wardly between the threads of the spiral A so as to` causek the two. sets of threads to interrnesh,

theB Vspiral providing a` stop Within the track yor path of the spiral. A.

the threads of spiral A so that half threads of the spiral B extend between half threads of spiral A and each half thread of spiral B which extends between threads of A provides a stop which will prevent objects or barrels carried by track I5 from moving downwardly faster than spiral B rotates. In the lifting operation, each stop prevents backward movement of the object above it carried by track I5 and cooperates with track I5 in elevating the object Both shafts I IJ and 20 are operated together, that is, in the same direction, and at the same speed. Each of the shafts is provided below oor I2 with a sprocket 2'I, the sprockets being connected by chain 28. Y K

The driving mechanism C may also be of any suitable type or construction. In the illustration given, a motor 29 drives a horizontal shaft 30 provided with a worm which meshes with worm gear 3 I. Worm gear 3I is fixed to shaft I0. Chain 28 connecting the sprockets 21 causes shafts I0 and 20 to rotate at the same speed and in the same direction. It will be observed that in the construction shown, the entire driving mechanism is located below the floors and out of the way of the conveyer mechanism proper. l

The automatic feed mechanism D may be of any suitable type or construction. As shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, parallel conveyer tracks 32 are provided for carrying barrels, cases, etc., toward a large opening 33 .in the floor E; The opening 33 is directly over the spiral conveyer track I5. Below the iloor I3 is provided a hinged stop member 34 which is pivotally secured to abutment 35 and ordinarily pressed in an upward direction vby means of .spring 36. The pivoted member is provided with two upwardly extending stop arms 3'I which are ordinarily pressed above track 32 under force of spring 36. Member 34 is provided with a depending platform 38 which is adapted 'to be engaged and depressed by cam 39 which is secured to the lower edge portion of track 25.

In the operation of the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a barrel or case is slid down track 32 toward opening 33 in the oor E. The barrel or case is stopped by the upwardly'extending arms 31. Meanwhile, motor 29 is turning both of the spiral shafts I0 and 20 in the same direction and at the same speed. As the spiral track I5 rotates, cam 39 is brought into engagement with the member 38, thus depressing it to the position shown in Fig. 3 and thereby releasing the case or barrel which then falls through the opening 33 onto the upper portion of track I5. The case or barrel immediately falls along track I5 into contact with the stop spiral 25 which checks its fall, and as the two spirals rotate, the stop spiral rod 25 permits the case and barrel to gradually drop downwardly in a vertical plane along track I5 as track I5'rotates. In other words, the'case moves downwardly in a vertical plane as the carrier spiral A rotates, the rod spiral 25 beingbrought steadily into contact with the object so as to control positively its rate of fall. If the two spirals are driven in the opposite direction, the barrel or case is lifted, the stop spiral rod following the object as it moves upwardly in aV vertical plane along spiral track I5. vAs already stated, any suitable mechanism may be provided below the trackway I5 for carrying away productsdeliveredV thereon by trackway I5` or forfeeding objects to said trackway when thev articles are tobe elevated.

In the above operation, it will be observed that the stop spiral B provides between each of the threads of the conveyer spiral A a stop arm or projection which is adapted to hold an article on the trackway I5` and cause it to rise or fall, depending upon the direction of movement of the two spirals.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, I provide a plurality of vertical rollers 40 which are supported in bracket arms 4I at their tops and bottoms and in such a manner as to engage the edge of three or more threads of thespiral. The rollers 6I bear against the sides of the spiral and support it against lateral sway or bending. By this means the spiral may be extended through several oors or" a building and operated as a continuous vertical conveyer. The vertical vrollers 40 may also be employed in conjunction with the stop spiral B when it is extended for substantial heights.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the track I5 is formed in segments, one segment I5a being cast integrally with a clamping collar I8a. The clamping collar I 8 on the opposite side thereof consists simply of the collar portion and does' not carry any of the track I5. However, the collar I8b, which is just below the'collar portion I8, is integrally provided with a track portion |51. It will be seen that the track portions I 5a and I5b form a complete spiral or thread. It will be understood that the clamping collar (not shown) opposite I8b and directly below I8a, is like collar I8; that is, it does not have integrally formed therewith any portion of the track. It will Athus be seen that the clamping collars are made up, as viewed in a vertical position, of alternating collar segments without track portions and collar segments with track portions integrally formed therewith. This construction permits quick and ready assembly. Also, it permits the user to break olf the track readily on any oor or point Without in any way aiecting the remainder of the elevator. Assuming an elevator passing upwardly through three oors, should Vthe operator desire to convey articles from the third oor and discharge them on the second, this can be readily accomplished by removing one or more segments of the spiral track near the second iloor, a receiving receptacle or conveyer being placed adjacent the termination of the spiral track. If it is desired then to carry the articles all ther way from the third floor to the rst floor or from the rst floor to the third floor, the removed track segments can be replaced and the conveyer will then carry the articles all the way from the first to the third floor, or vice versa.

For the purpose of utilizing all the space of the spiral track I5, a plurality of stop conveyers may be used, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The advantage of this construction is that the spiral B on one side will maintainan object in one vertical line on tracka I5 of spiral A, while the stop spiral B on the other side will maintain an object in another vertical plane on track I5 of spiral A, thus utilizing 'more space on track understood that track `A may be completely surrounded by B spirals, if desired.

The raised flange or rim I 6 of the trackway tends to eliminate friction to some extent. It will be understood, however, that the conveyer track I5 may be provided with raised portions or rods to eliminate friction; or, if some friction is desired, the track may be substantially flat. When the spiral is used for lowering objects, practically no power may be required, the driving mechanism being used simply as a governor or as I5. It will be a means for. positive controlofthe rise .or fallof .the objects'at a Apredetermined speed. .Of course,

. the pitch of the spiral will determine .howffar Apackages `will `be lowered or lifted .by onefull revolution thereof, and such pitchtmay be lmodi- -fiedito meet individual requirements of conveyers.

f Automatic feed and .delivery of the packages is rendered easy by the 'elimination ofthe spiral at the feeding or discharge point. In Asuch operations, round or barrelfshapedl objects may `roll intothe spiral by gravity' and also may leave .the spiral rbyfgravity, thus leaving the discharge opening always unobstructed. Of course, as stated above, suitable discharge conveyers and'feeding conveyers may be employed y'in connection with thespiral as desired. f f

Where the spiral conveyer extends through several floors, I prefer to have the automatic feed mechanism D located on each of the floors so as to feed directly onto the spiral.y This does not require anychange in the spiral A, rit being necessary onlyto add the cam 39 to trip the feed mechanism so asto discharge the objectk onto the `spiral track 25 at a point near the stop spiral'B.

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Thus, when the spiralV extends through a number of floors, operators may feed the single spiral as it rotates on any one of the floors, the automatic Y fe'ed mechanism D permitting the barrels or boxes, etc. to be fed at the proper place and time. While Ihave shown a specific feedmechanism, it will vbe understood, however, that any suitable mechanism for this purpose may be employed or, yif desired, the objects may be fed by hand into f 4the conveyer on any one of the floors or at other .substantially the same vertical plane.

kpointsintermediate the height of the spiral conveyer A. My new conveyer, while capable of lifting and lowering large quantities of articles, occupies a minimum of space and eliminates the necessity for a large area heretofore found necessary for gravltyrconveyers, etc. The inclination of the `track inwardly tends to throw the articles against the inner post and prevents any danger of their falling'off. By Vthis construction the trackway may be made even smaller than the object which is conveyed thereby.

Inthe operation of the vertical spirals, vit will be noted that the function of the stop spiral is same vertical plane. It is believed unnecessary,

t however, to describe such equivalent structures because the same will' be readily apparent to y those'skilled in the art. ,A yThe foregoing detailedr description has been given for clearness. of understanding only, and

, vno unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but theappended Aclaims should be construed as broadly as permissible, inview of the prior f art.

vI claim:

of one member extendwithin the outer periphery ,of the threads of lthe other,-said screw members being-rotatably mounted, and means for moving said screw members together and in the same direction `whereby `the thread portion of one memloer Ascrapes .asa rising `or falling abutment adjacent the thread portion of the other member.

2. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a pair of spiral conveyer members arranged in intermeshing position and mounted for rotation, and means for .rotating said members at the same speed and in the same direction.

3. A gravity conveyer of the character set forth,

comprising: a pair of rotatably mounted spiralssupported in vertical position, said spirals having intermeshing threads, and means for rotating said spirals at the same speed and in the same direction whereby the thread of one spiral serves as a constantly receding stop for the other spi-ral.

4. In a gravity conveyer of the character set forth, a pair of intermeshing spirals supported in substantially vertical position for rotation, one of said spirals providing a track for receiving ar ticles and the other of said spirals providing a stop whereby said articles are prevented from falling precipitously along said track, and means Vfor rotating said spirals at the same speed and in the same direction whereby said stop spiral controls the rate of descent'of the articles supported by said track spiral.

5. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a pair of spirals having intermeshing threads and supported in substantially vertical position for rotation, and means for rotating said spirals together and in the same direction whereby the thread of one of said spirals serves as a lifting member While the thread of the other spiral serves as a track member.

6. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a pair of spirals having intermeshing threads, and means for rotating said spirals together and in the same direction for lifting objects in engagement with the intermeshing threads of said spirals.

'7. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a vertically mounted member providing a spiral track upon which objects may be moved, a second member equipped with a spiral stop member intermeshing with said curved track whereby said stop member is maintained adjacent the path of said track member so as to provide a stop for an object moving therealong, and means for rotating said two members at the same speed in the 'same direction.

8. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a spiral conveyer member and a plurality of spiral stop members arranged in intermeshing position with said conveyer member, and means for rotating said spiral conveyer and stop members.

9. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a conveyer spiral and a plurality of stop spiral members arranged in intermeshing position and mounted for rotation, and means for rotating said spirals together and in the same direction whereby objects are conveyed by said spiral conveyer .in substantially vertical planes.

l0. 'In a conveyer of the character set forth, a spiral conveyer member mounted for rotation, means for rotating said conveyer, means for -maintaining an object carried by said spiral in substantially one vertical plane as said spiral rotates, and rotatably mounted means engaging edges of said spiral and rotating therewith to brace said spiral.

'11. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a

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pair of spiral conveyer members arranged in intermeshing position and mounted for rotation, means for rotating said members, and rotatably mounted rollers supported so as to engage and rotate With at least one of said spiral members.

12. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a spiral conveyer member mounted for rotation, means for rotating said member, means cooperating With said spiral for maintaining an object thereon in substantially a vertical plane for a portion of its travel as said spiral rotates, and rotatably mounted rollers engaging the lateral edges of said spiral for bracing the same.

13j. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a pair of spiral conveyer members arranged in intermeshing position and mounted for rotation, one of said spiral members being of greater diameter than the other and providing a spiral track, and means for rotating said members at the same speed and in the same direction.

14. In a conveyer adapted for vertical movement of objects, a rotatably mounted member providing a spiral track upon which objects may move, means for rotating said member, means for loading said track at a point intermediate the height thereof, and spiral means for maintaining an object upon said track in substantially one ment for preventing movement of said objects about the axis of saidtrack.

` 16. In a conveyer of the character set forth, a

pair of vertically mounted rotatable shafts, aV

spiral track mounted on one of said shafts and having a raised outer peripheral edge portion so as to retain objects thereon as the objects are raised or lowered on the track, a spiral rod about said other shaft and xedly secured to said other shaft, said rod being adjacent said spiral track so as to block the movement of said objects along said track about the axis of the track, and means for rotating said track and said rod at the same speed.

HARRY D. LATHROP. 

